New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed a bill on Friday, November 20, 2023, that allows New York City cannabis businesses to deduct business expenses paid or incurred in carrying on such business for purposes of determining their City income tax liabilities. The measure expands on legislation the governor signed in 2022 that allowed state-level cannabis

Louis Vlahos’ article, “Planning for the Interest Charge on Installment Sales: Decanting a Grantor Trust?”, was published in the New York State Bar Association Trusts and Estates Law Section Journal. Rivkin Radler member Nicholas G. Moneta is the publication’s Editor-in-Chief.

The article discusses the concept that the special interest charge imposed on the deferred tax

In an effort to help prevent and combat money laundering, terrorist financing, corruption, tax fraud, and other illicit activity, the United States Department of the Treasury just issued a final rule [RIN: 1506-AB49]. The rule requires certain businesses to file reports with FinCEN (Financial Crimes Enforcement Network) that identify two categories of individuals: the beneficial

The New Jersey Division of Taxation recently provided guidance[1] on registration and licensing requirements, Social Equity Excise Fees, and the Sales & Use tax applicable to companies operating in the cannabis industry.[2]

The following provides important takeaways from the Division’s publication.

Registration & Licensing

To operate a cannabis business in New Jersey a company must

What Happened:

Henry Hobson is a widowed blowhard who fancies himself superior to everyone because he owns a shoe business.  Hobson’s daughter Maggie actually runs the business, but Hobson does not pay her.

Hobson is downright nasty to most of the people in his life.  He demeans Maggie and tells her she is too old

First Step

Last Wednesday, the House Ways and Means Committee approved that portion of the 2022 budget legislation with which it was tasked by the Congressional Budget resolution of August 24. The text of the bill prepared by the Committee – almost nine hundred pages long – was passed along party lines, except for one

Living the Dream

“How was your weekend?” Thank you for asking. Awful.[i]

“Why?” you ask. (Humor me. Pretend you’re interested.) I’ll tell you.

One word, with 535 syllables: Congress.[ii]

When the reconciliation budget resolutions were passed by the Senate and then the House,[iii] the committees to which reconciliation instructions were given were also directed “to

Summertime in Washington

On August 11, the Senate passed the $3.5 trillion budget resolution for the 2021-2022 fiscal year – S. Con. Res. 14, as amended – by a vote of 50 to 49, strictly along party lines, including Democratic Senators Manchin and Sinema who have repeatedly questioned the wisdom of such an expensive measure.

Report Card

A couple of weeks ago, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (“TIGTA”) released a report that presented the results of its review to determine whether the IRS’s “policies, procedures and, practices” adequately ensured that its examiners were considering the compensation paid by closely held S corporations to those shareholders who rendered service

Welcome to the Governor’s office, Ms. Hochul. Unfortunately, congratulations are hardly in order; indeed, a wish for good luck seems much more appropriate.

I suppose you realize that the last round of tax legislation, enacted in April by the Democratic-controlled Assembly and Senate – veto-proof super majorities in both Chambers – resulted in a tax

The Calm Before?

I’m confused.[i] For better or worse, I’m pretty sure that I am not alone.

Last week, in a letter addressed to the American people, forty-six of the fifty Republicans in the U.S. Senate indicated they would not vote in favor of increasing the federal debt ceiling to accommodate the additional spending that

Compare and Contrast

Have you spoken to anybody about the infrastructure bill on which the Senate is about to vote? I know I haven’t, except to explain that Speaker Pelosi has stated the House will not consider the bill unless and until the Senate also adopts a budget resolution for the President’s tax and

The Dog Days[i]

I’ve never much cared for the month of August. In New York, at least for me, the eighth month of the year – named by the Roman Emperor, Augustus, to honor himself[ii] – evokes memories of very warm, very humid days, and anxious thoughts about the upcoming school year.[iii]

Although I no

Capital Loss

If the amount realized by a taxpayer upon the sale of a partnership interest to a third party is insufficient to restore to the taxpayer their adjusted basis for the interest – i.e., their unrecovered investment in the partnership – a loss is sustained equal to the difference between such adjusted basis and

Movement Toward Tax Increases

You may have read last week that Democrats on the Senate Budget Committee announced they had reached a deal on a budget resolution that will enable them to bypass Senate Republicans on the way to enacting most of the “social infrastructure” programs called for under the President’s American Families Plan.[i] Significantly,

Head-Scratchers

The Code is chock-full of provisions that will challenge the intellectual capacity, not to mention the patience, of most tax professionals. The complexity of these rules does not arise out of some sadistic intent on the part of Congress, the Treasury, or the IRS to torment taxpayers and their advisers;[i] rather, it is often

NH vs MA

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court denied New Hampshire’s request that the Court exercise its original jurisdiction under the Constitution[i] to hear and resolve a conflict involving the taxation by Massachusetts of income earned by certain residents of the Granite State.[ii]

The disagreement between the two jurisdictions originated when Massachusetts, in response

Not Good

As Mr. Biden settled into the White House, and as the Democrats began planning how to best utilize their slim Congressional majority to enact and pay for their sweeping legislative agenda, the principal concern among most owners of successful closely held businesses was Mr. Biden’s proposal to almost double the federal income tax

I Read the News Today

Much of today’s news is dominated by the future of the Administration’s broadly defined infrastructure plan. Discussions among “those in the know” inevitably turn into debates over the wisdom of pursuing the bipartisan legislative approach favored by centrists from both sides of the political divide as contrasted with the “go-it-alone

What A Ride

No one anticipated that the Administration’s proposed tax increases would fly through Congress easily – at least no one residing in a state in which the recreational use of marijuana has not been legalized. Query, however, whether anyone foresaw the rollercoaster-like developments of the last several days.

The G-7

As the White

Recap

Last week, we considered several of the revenue proposals included in the Biden Administration’s 2022 Budget that are probably of interest – or should we say, “of concern”? – to the owners of closely held businesses.[i]

Rate Hikes

The proposed increases in the federal corporate income tax rate – for C corporations[ii] and for

Extra, Extra![i]

Last Friday afternoon, as millions of unsuspecting Americans prepared for the long Memorial Day weekend[ii] – for many, perhaps, their first mask-less holiday celebration in almost 15 months – the Biden Administration released its 114-page “Green Book” for the federal government’s 2022 fiscal year.[iii]

I must confess, I really was looking forward to

Tax Gap

In a report released last week, the U.S. Treasury Department explained that the so-called “tax gap” – i.e., the difference between the amount of federal income taxes owed by taxpayers for a taxable year and the amount actually paid for such year – “disproportionately benefits high earners who accrue more of their

Dream Until the Dream Come True?[i]

Ask the owner of a closely held business to describe their most recently recurring nightmare and you are likely to get an earful regarding the prospect of an increased federal income tax on their profits, an increased federal tax on the long-term capital gain from the sale of their

Go After Real Estate?

During the 2020 presidential campaign, there was one segment of the “rich” for which then-candidate Biden seemed to have reserved some of his harshest criticism – wealthy real estate investors. Moreover, the Democratic Party’s platform included several proposed changes to the Code[i] the impact of which would probably be felt most

A Night to Remember?

Did you listen to the President’s speech last Wednesday? He addressed a joint session of Congress to pitch the Administration’s $1.8 trillion American Families Plan. Due to COVID-related restrictions, there were only about one hundred elected officials present in the House Chamber;[i] other invited guests brought the total in attendance to

In advance of the President’s address to Congress this evening, the White House this morning released a summary of Mr. Biden’s proposed changes to the Internal Revenue Code. These changes, together with his previously announced plans to increase the federal corporate income tax, are intended to accomplish three goals: fund the government’s efforts against the

“Yeah, I’m the Tax Man”[i]

Last week, several media outlets reported that Mr. Biden will soon propose that Congress increase the federal income tax rate applicable to long-term capital gains recognized by individual taxpayers.[ii]

The time and place at which this and other changes to the Code are expected to be proposed is this

Not Just Income Tax

Approximately two weeks ago, Gov. Cuomo and the New York State Legislature agreed upon a budget for the State’s 2021-2022 fiscal year. Although most businesses and their owners have understandably focused their attention on the increased personal and corporate income taxes[i] enacted under the budget legislation, there are several other provisions

New York’s Governor Cuomo is having a bad 2021. Some may attribute this to his hubris or to karma; others may point to an emboldened, and now veto-proof,[i] progressive State Legislature; many will claim that Mr. Cuomo is paying the price for being out of touch with the electorate. Whatever the reason, his fall from

The New York state budget deal announced yesterday includes a workaround of the temporary federal limit on state and local tax deductions (the SALT cap). The provision was part of Gov. Cuomo’s initial budget proposal in January, and it comes at a time when many Democrats are calling on Pres. Biden to include the elimination

According to Justice Learned Hand, “Any one may so arrange his affairs that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which will best pay the Treasury; there is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes.” Stated differently, taxpayers have the right to pay only

Are the rich making enough of a contribution to society? Are they bearing their fair share of taxes? Many New York legislators don’t think so.

Following the elections of November 2020, the State’s Democratic party secured a veto-proof supermajority not only in the Assembly, but also in the Senate.[i] This development was significant because, until